Week 1

IT'S FINALLY HERE! I've officially arrived at the mission field and have started my time as a full-time missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was a bit of an exhausting week, but it was also very fulfilling and exciting. Monday wasn't too exciting, with me dropping my suit off at the dry cleaners and attending classes. It was mostly just one of those days where you make sure you have everything you're going to need when you leave.


Tuesday, our morning class was a bit shorter because we had a devotional on what to expect going into the field. Wednesday, we had another workshop on how we should be while in the field, as well as what the travel will look like. The latter half of the day, my district all hung out and said our goodbyes, as half of them would be leaving early in the morning Thursday. It was sad to see them go but exciting that they were getting started on their work.


Thursday felt like an odd day due to the lack of half the district but was offset by the excitement we had because of us getting ready to leave. In class that day, we all added each other to our email lists and had a combined class with another district, which went well. Friday was a long day with all of us getting up at 4:00 so we could get dressed and ready to go to the airport. To get to the airport, we took the bus, the train, and finally the team before we were up in the air on our way to L.A. and then Albuquerque. When we got there, we met with our mission president, met our new companions over Zoom, and found out what area we would be serving in.


The next day, we had interviews with the mission president and met our companions in person before going straight to work teaching a lesson on prophets and then attending the adult session of the stake conference before coming back to the house and unpacking. Sunday was a long day with us attending a stake conference again from 10:00-12:00. The rest of the day was spent on lessons, with us getting to 5 lessons on topics like the Holy Ghost, the restoration of the gospel, the plan of salvation, and a couple of other things. Overall, it was a great week of goodbyes and hellos. I'm excited to finally begin teaching. And I'd like to share a scripture I thought was really relevant to what I'm doing now in the field - D&C 4:2, "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." I'm ready to start living the life of a missionary with my whole self.

Mission Family Home Evening
New Mexico Sunset
Lift Off
My companion, Elder Whetten, and I



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